MarkyG82

Can also recommend a stiffer rear roll bar. I'd actually do that before anything else. The L&K should have DCC so you can adjust the dampers to your preference. There's a vcds mod that opens the fixed presets to a slider. I think it allows greater high and low limits too.

Have you fitted a dash cam recently? There was a link to this sort of behaviour on the octavia to do with hard wiring kits.

As @ZJZ says. The dead spot is usually the centre of the steering but can also be noticed under any change in direction. Some think tyres with large dead spots can be comfortable to drive but unresponsive to turning input. Personally I find them uncomfortable to drive due to the constant input required to keep the car straight. I do like a pointy car though. Small steering input = actual response form the car. However, how the car is set up and the condition can also fell the same. A sloppy rear end (oo-er) can feel vague like a dead spot. Also worn steering bushes can do the same thing.

If you want to stop things get into it then a simple 3d printed bung of probably something off amazon should work.

I have CC2 on my original 18s for winter use and a set of VW 19s with good summer tyres for summer use. I tried using the CC2 for one summer and found them to be a little lacking. I was having to drive much more conservatively than I knew the car was capable of. In winter they are good and I will need to think hard about whether to go like for like (CC3/sport?) or full winter. My gut at the mo says go CC as the fluctuating temps are not so happy for full winters.

There's the reason.

Can confirm that the lights come on on my Passat GTE lifting in B mode. Ss for the original question, This has been "discussed" on EV forums and it depends a lot on how you drive and where you drive. Scientific experiments have shown without doubt that D mode is more efficient (in most cases). But it's not to everyones taste. Like above I sometimes use B in traffic or town or windy country lanes. Just gives more confidence in the slowing of the car in changeable speed situations. I use D most of the time but with active use of the paddles. This changes the car temporarily into M which adds roughly 70% of the regen of B. I then either let it return back to D on it's own or hold the upshift paddle to return to D. This way I can temporarily increase the stopping power for lights or a corner but quickly get back to the long coast feel of D. Then there is the odd occasion that B is good on a downhill run. e.g. the hill down from hot air balloon roundabout (RIP pub) or the hills on A303. Just helps regulate speed easier.

Really good to hear your positive response. Yes they should last longer. The mono tube setup is in theory more robust.

Placing a dsg in N has been discussed and the general consensus is that it wouldn't hurt but at the same time isn't necessary. My view is if stop-start is on then don't waste the wear on the control valves and leave it in drive.

I might be doing mine in the next year or 2. Currently on 75k (miles) and 7yrs. The recent change from whatever it was (70k and 5 year?) gives confidence that they are capable of holding out a bit. Id say 100k (160k km) would be my limit. Age is up to you but 10 years seems a good limit too. Note I say "limit". Depending on your usage (anything other than pootling round town with stop-start off) can remove life from the running parts.

@travs that is all true for the standard shocks. Last time I looked into it (a while back) bilstein weren't manufacturing mono tube damptronic units. The only difference was the actual base damping being a bit stiffer on the B6. Being adaptive the requirement for a stiffer shock is minimal.

Yeah the damptronic are the equivalent and I think are a drop in solution. The reason I suggested the B4 over B6 is the standard B6 are mono tube shocks which offer a good performance advantage in use and life expectancy. The damptronic versions are twin tube like most car shocks and are built in the same way as the B4. The might have different seals but the construction is the same so it may not be worth the added cost for a slightly stiffer damping profile.

Bilstein B4 damptronic. You're welcome.

I've done it before on other cars. At this point it's probably worth removing from the car. You can't drive it like it is anyway so make your life easier. It could be as simple as pressing back in but likely will need some sort of disassembly. Maybe look into a refurb kit (seals, etc). But then by the time you've done that you may as well just get a new caliper.

Improving the charge cooler would always be a benefit so probably not a bad route to start with. Afraid I can't offer first hand of the actual thing you are seeing but your logic stands up. How is the clutch coping? Are there any torque increases with the over boost events? Is it WOT only or at other times too?

I was going to put "fake diff" but didn't want to confuse people. It's a tool for a job and definitely not a patch on a VAQ or a mechanical LSD. I wonder how hard the XDS is working without the user realising? Could be not at all or come be doing stuff seamlessly enough to be hidden. Dunno, so many variables to really make a definitive statement. I never liked the 1.5. The 1.4 was a much nicer engine.

The XDS (electronic limited diff) I find needs encouragement to do stuff. Off the mark is always going to be an issue. Once moving you need give the steering wheel and go pedal some positive input to get the XDS to wake up. Once woken it definitely helps rotate the car. If you drive too gently then it doesn't activate and you end up in an awkward mid space where you don't have any help.

As above. Cheap/free labour is the game with this activity.

This has been an issue with the 1.9 over the years and pops up now and then with the 2.0. When my 1.9 had it I tried all sorts of "repairs". New battery, refurbed alternator, cleaned up earth straps, etc, etc. Some helped, others didn't. The only thing that finally fixed it was a remap. It was totally accidental and I had learned to live with the issue. My approach was to turn the key for one engine rotation, back off and go again. It worked every time. When I got the remap, I did the same but noticed it responded differently on the first rotation. After that it started on the button every time. The actual issue was to do with the crank speed sensor needing a certain minimum value before the system would start pumping fuel. The starter was only ever able to turn at the required speed when new/clean. It soon lost the ability to crank fast enough. I don't think the 2.0 has quite the same cause but the symptoms are very similar. I am yet to hear of a remap solving it though as very few are willing to try on what they think is a duff engine.

FYI: DCC and electronic dampers are the same thing. There are a couple of threads in here somewhere discussing using eibach pro kit springs from other models. The result is the same ride height as original springs but with stiffer coils. May also offer better quality but that is subjective I think. Worth having a look. @Carlston is the spring whisperer and a font of knowledge with this sort of thing.

I think the ride heights are as follows (by drop): Standard: 0mm Sport line: -15mm L&K/DCC: -10mm* *The importance distinction with DCC is that even the sport line or standard cars with DCC are 10mm drop. If you have comfort mode then you have DCC.

I think what @wharferat says is on the money (pun intended). I often find it funny when people say "the car is only worth....". Yeah ok the car might be worth £5k when working and you have to spend £4k to get there. You then have a car you like for £4k. The only unknown part of the maintenance is the engine (see warranty comment above). How much money would you be willing to spend on a car to get the same confidence in reliability. Probably a fair bit more than the £5k yours could be worth. Is it 7, 8 or even 10k? Even then you only have the same confidence in the engine as you would have if you replaced the engine in yours (i.e. a used unit). As above, it's your finances and your tool for the travel you do. If you are in a good financial position then maybe it's the time to change to petrol or EV. There's a thread in here near the top about the economy of the 190 tsi and how good it is. Another route for replacement could be a diesel tuning house like darkside. They might have a lump kicking about that will offer better performance from an engine built by race engineers.

The problem with aftermarket is the insurance companies can get grumpy. You need to tell them if anything is not OEM. Often it won't change the cost other than an admin fee. Worth bearing in mind with this stuff. It's why I aim for OEM from a different spec when going for wheels.

My approach to this is wait until they are too bad to cope with and then get them done professionally in a single colour.

This is where you are getting mixed up. With the shorter springs it will be in exactly the same spot with the same remaining compression travel available regardless of B6 or B8. As the shaft is what defines how much space there is for the spring when nothing is compressed, the B8 extends less so has less droop travel. Both setups will sit in the same place when static on the road.